Sophomores Brandon Mah (left) and Christian Vazquez (right) talk while enjoying the sun at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

Sophomores Brandon Mah (left) and Christian Vazquez (right) talk while enjoying the sun at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 ... more

Students enjoy the sunshine at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted.

Students enjoy the sunshine at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the

Jason Spector (center), a campus ambassador and student, answers questions from prospective students and parents at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

Jason Spector (center), a campus ambassador and student, answers questions from prospective students and parents at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released ... more

The University
of California and California State University systems are not able to accommodate all the qualified students who apply. The state needs to provide adequate funding to its colleges to boost enrollment and make an important investment in our future. less

The University
of California and California State University systems are not able to accommodate all the qualified students who apply. The state needs to provide adequate funding to its colleges to boost ... more

Freshmen Jeevan Sidhu (left) and Leah Kaufman (center) laugh while sitting on a wall at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

Freshmen Jeevan Sidhu (left) and Leah Kaufman (center) laugh while sitting on a wall at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 ... more

Flavio Arechiga (bottom left), Jesus Arechiga (top left), Maria Lopez (center) and Juan Arechiga (right) relax at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

People walk past signs advertising various clubs to prospective students at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

People walk past signs advertising various clubs to prospective students at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate ... more

People sit along a wall at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

People sit along a wall at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number ... more

A campus ambassador directs prospective students and parent at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

A campus ambassador directs prospective students and parent at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and ... more

Jason Spector (left), a campus ambassador and student, answers questions from prospective students and parents at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted. less

Jason Spector (left), a campus ambassador and student, answers questions from prospective students and parents at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released ... more

A student works on her laptop in the grass at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an increase in the number of Latino students accepted.

A student works on her laptop in the grass at the UC Berkeley campus on April 18, 2014 in Berkeley, Calif. The UC system recently released data about its fall 2014 undergraduate admissions and there is an

The University of California offered admission to nearly 3,000 more out-of-state freshmen than last year, a lucrative move given that nonresidents pay nearly three times more tuition than residents, UC reported Friday.

Unlike last year, however, UC also increased its offers to in-state residents, by about 1,000 students. And for the first time, more Latino Californians won admission than white Californians.

The annual glimpse at who gets into California's jewel of a university system interests more than just students. Parents throughout the Bay Area and California are curious and, in many cases, anxious to find out what their children's chances are of getting into one of UC's nine undergraduate campuses.

President Trump addresses nation after mass shooting at Florida SchoolWhite House

"I'm hoping my kids have access to what's been the historic and amazing UC system," said Lorraine Woodruff-Long of San Francisco, whose son will apply to college in the fall and her daughter a few years after that. "I just want to make sure that UC isn't giving priority to out-of-state kids over kids whose families have been here and paying taxes all these years, and advocating for public education."

Although tuition is twice what it was in 2006, many parents still see UC as a bargain. California residents pay about $13,000 for annual tuition and fees, compared with about $36,000 for nonresidents, excluding room, board and books. Also, California students whose families earn up to $80,000 pay no tuition - a perk that UC officials say they can offer thanks to out-of-state students.

Allaying displacement fears

UC officials insist they are looking out for brainy locals, just like they always have.

More in Education

"The notion that California residents are being displaced is incorrect," said Stephen Handel, UC's associate vice president of undergraduate admissions.

Handel referred to the guarantee of admission enjoyed by students who score in the top 9 percent of their high school or in the top 9 percent of students statewide. These high achievers get in automatically, but not necessarily to the campus of their choice.

Admitted students who receive no offer may still attend UC Merced - an increasingly popular option despite its role as campus of last resort.

"We are maintaining our guarantee" to in-state students, Handel said.

While that is true for the system overall, only three UC campuses are admitting more California residents than they did last year: Davis, Riverside and Santa Cruz. Offers to Californians declined at the other six.

At Berkeley, for example, offers to California residents plunged by an alarming 9 percent - a drop of 828 prospective freshmen.

That figure prompted UC Berkeley Chancellor Nick Dirks to write an open letter to nervous observers assuring them that those numbers will change.

"We actually anticipate enrolling at least 50 more in-state freshmen than we did in 2013," Dirks wrote, explaining that even though Cal is admitting fewer students as of April, it now has a wait list for the first time. Admissions officials will use the list to add to the class when they have a better idea of how many admitted students actually enroll.

Dirks said the change was made to give the campus more control over the size of its freshman class.

The new process, he said, "is now consistent with best practices at selective universities across the country." All UC campuses except for Merced do the same.

Diversified student body

UC Berkeley is also increasing the percent of nonresident undergraduates, from 20 to 23 percent, Dirks said, adding about 100 new nonresidents to next fall's freshman class.

Besides diversifying the class - more than 1,300 of those admitted are from other countries - nonresident students offer something of a gold mine to Berkeley, and to all UC campuses.

For every 100 students admitted from out of state, UC gets $2.2 million in additional revenue, said John Wilton, Cal's vice chancellor for administration and finance. That's more than $120 million at Berkeley alone, he said.

Campus officials blamed rising costs in the face of flat funding from the state and tuition frozen at the level UC charged in the 2011-12 school year.

The campus has used its out-of-state windfall in part to reduce crowding in core subjects, including computer science for the first time next fall, and to subsidize tuition for middle-class students whose families earn up to $150,000.

Ethnic diversity fared less well among California residents at Berkeley, with the number of black students admitted dropping by 46, though compared with all offers, the percentage held somewhat steady at slightly above 3 percent.

More Latino students

At the same time, Cal offers of admission for all ethnic groups except Latinos declined among California residents. Offers to Latino students went up by 116 compared with last year, to 1,745, or 21 percent of all offers.

Across the UC system, admissions to California residents were up for all ethnic groups except for white applicants, which dropped by 513, to 16,378.

In all, UC has admitted 86,865 freshmen for fall, or 58 percent of the 148,688 applicants. Among California residents, UC admitted 61 percent of applicants (61,120 freshmen), up slightly from last year. UC also admitted 53 percent of nonresident applicants (25,745), down slightly from last year.

25,745

Nonresident UC applicants admitted.

$23,000

Additional tuition and fees that nonresidents must pay.

17,589

Latino freshmen admitted, which tops the number of white freshmen admitted (16,378) for the first time.

Fall admissions

Highlights from the new University of California freshman admissions report for the fall term:

2,984: Increase in admitted out-of-state and international students over 2013.